2 posts categorized "Chicago river walk "

August 24, 2009

Many of you have expressed interest in the new stretch of the Chicago riverwalk that I wrote about back in June and have asked when it would be complete. Well, it's finally finished--late, of course, but that's always the way with construction projects, whether it's a home rehab or a skyscraper.

I strolled the riverwalk this morning on the way into work and enjoyed the fountains of the Chicago Vietnam Veterans Memorial, the reflective canopy beneath the Wabash Avenue Bridge (at left, the canopy beneath the Michigan Avenue Bridge), a handsome variety of plants and the sight of baby crawling on the sidewalk. Oh yes, there was the river, too. The point is, the riverwalk is a very urban experience, with lots of "incidents" to engage you along the way.

The new stretch runs from State Street to an area just east of the Michigan Avenue Bridge. From there, you can take the existing riverwalk all the way to Lake Michigan.

March 24, 2009

If you've been around the Michigan Avenue bridge lately, you've surely noticed: Lots of bustle of both banks of the Chicago River. It's not just the Trump Tower skyscraper. The frenzy of activity represents a major step forward in achieving Mayor Richard M. Daley's dream to create a downtown Chicago river walk.

On the north bank (left), you can see the three-tiered riverfront walkway at the base of the still-under-construction Trump Tower and workers building the curving riverfront plaza between the 92-story hotel-condo skyscraper and the Wrigley Building. The tower is expected to open in June or July and the tiered walkway is likely to be one of its most alluring features--a complete turn-around from the fortress-like plaza at the base of Sears Tower.

On the south bank is an even more impressive project (below): The city's massive, $22 million effort to create a continuous riverwalk between State Street and the Michigan Avenue Bridge. From there, the riverwalk will run all the way eastward to Lake Michigan. This one is due to be finished in June.

With its towering cranes, steel bulkheads and landfill being dumped into the river to create new, seemingly natural "ground," the city project is a classic Chicago exercise in urban muscle: "You want more shoreline property? We'll build it." More important, it promises a major upgrade to the public realm. Not only will it allow pedestrians to leave behind the noise and congestion of street level for the serenity of the river walk, which sits below street level. It also promises to turn the river from a natural feature that divides downtown into a seam that unites it.

Here's more on the city's construction project from a March 12 Tribune story: